Unchanged
by A-Dreamer-Needs-A-Hero
Summary: A Sakura/Sasuke one-shot that I've invented to try and improve on writing more cheerful fanfiction. I ask kindly for reviews, I want feedback on how to improve. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm still in love with you. It hasn't gone away."


Sasu-Saku One-shot

By A-Dreamer-Needs-A-Hero

(I wanted to keep Sakura and Sasuke in character as possible, and came up with this. This is the closest to fluff that I've been able to accomplish so far writing fan fiction. And sadly enough, it still isn't really fluff. Wow, I wonder why all of my stories seem to be depressing or violent?….Hmm. Oh well. I might create a one-shot series for them so I can continue to try and build my skill on writing easy going happy fics. You be the judge and let me know how I did. Like I said, this is sort of a practice thing. I was afraid if I tried too hard Sasuke would end up way too out-of-character.)

"You look like you need to talk."

She always pushed for the communication between the two of them. He'd only make an effort for it if she started it.

Kohona was the same as it had always been over the last eighteen years she had lived there. The bridge that they stood on was a little more aged, but nothing there seemed to have changed. Same buildings, the same people. It was as if their memories of their childhood had been preserved here by the village, that it held all of their feelings and thoughts for them to rediscover.

The sadness, the annoyance, the joy, all seemed to seep into her skin and around her in the air. There were good and bad times spent here, and looking over at Sasuke, she wondered which feelings he was remembering here. She doubted they would be the same, but then again, he rarely showed what he was really feeling.

"I think you need to talk more than me," He retorted back, avoiding her offer in the process.

Still dressed in a nurse's uniform, she pursed her lips, but didn't frown. It was to be expected, and she wouldn't let it faze her. Hastily pushing her hair behind her ears, Sakura turned to face him.

"Well," She exclaimed while examining her fingernails. He always seemed to be more defensive when she tried to look into his eyes. "I would like to talk to you. So, are you going to ignore me after just basically telling me to back off?"

He laughed, but it was short and not sincere.

"You say that as if you would actually listen to me," Sasuke muttered. Since he surprisingly was looking over towards her, she could tell by his eyes that he was referring back to their younger years when she'd never leave him alone. It hadn't changed much, except now she liked to see herself as a confident and sure woman who had to deal with a stubborn man. It was unlike back then when she swooned like a lovesick fool if he even glanced her way.

She shot him a look. "I listen; just I don't always follow what you want me to do."

"You're playing with my words," He told her, shaking his head momentarily as if he was almost amused by the situation.

Sakura beamed at the reaction, hoping that he was. It meant that she was getting to him. Sometimes she could pry her way under his shell. It was always worth it once it was done. "I always do," She sang to him, being chirper to annoy him. Her elbows were rested on the wooden railing of the bridge, and her eyes glanced back to him. There was some silence, and she tapped her foot during the pause of their conversation, trying to be patient enough to wait for a response.

"So, wanna talk about it now?" Well, she knew that she had _tried. _It wasn't like she said that it was one hundred percent possible. The nagging would get under his skin, but that's what always got him to talk. Ever since he had returned to Kohona, she had always been prodding for his company. Naruto had seemed disheartened at times that she had returned to vying for Sasuke's affection (which wasn't known to actually exist), but she knew that he was relieved that he was back and team seven was reunited in sorts.

"What do you think there is that I need to talk about," He questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Dunno. That's why you're going to tell me."

He too leaned onto the railing, which brought him closer to her. Sakura attempted to pester him further into talking with her.

"Who am I going to tell?"

"That's not even a problem. Consider the idea that I don't want to tell you that 'something' that I'm apparently 'hiding'." If he were more of an emotional person he would have been using air quotations with his fingers. She nearly snorted at the idea of him making hand gestures like that. It seemed every minute or two she'd scoot closer to him, gradually closing the distance over their meaningless conversation. It was hardly noticeable, until finally it got the point where she was rubbing elbows with him.

"Sakura," He finally exclaimed, seeming close to being exasperated.

"Is there anything you're trying to tell _me_?"

Her eyes looked up to him big and wide and she practically glowed with her faux appearance of innocence. "What gives you that idea?" Her eyelashes fluttered, a dramatic action that was almost enough for Sasuke to get ready to strangle her.

He didn't let her get to him through that, just stiffening his shoulders and staring hard down at her momentarily. His gaze lingered longer than it normally did, but too soon he was looking out towards the water that trickled beneath the small bridge they were standing on. Her lips thinned into a straight line again, disproving and disappointed of the action.

"One could get the idea through, well, let's say the fact that you're trying to hold my _hand_."

Sakura was dying to pout, but then that would probably just make him walk off. And he wasn't trying to remove her hand, so either he wasn't out of shock yet or he wasn't as appalled to this as he made it seem. "You'll just turn me down," She told him with a sad sigh, shaking her head in disappointment. "I'd rather not get my hopes up."

"So there is something you want to tell me."

"Don't tell me that you haven't been expecting this," She said incredulously. He stared back at her in confusion. Frustrated, she turned away from him and marched over to the other side of the bridge.

"Forget it; I shouldn't have been pestering you."

Sasuke heard her walking away. Ten minutes or so passed and he hadn't moved from his spot on the bridge. Her odd actions were making him wonder what she was so worked up about. A sad sigh once again filled the air.

"You're still here?"

He didn't have to turn around. The frown on her face could be felt by the gaze on his back.

"Because I need to tell you something," She reminded him firmly, and her eyes looked determined.

"Why didn't you tell me before you stormed off?" He still didn't have the slightest clue to what was going on. This once small, annoying blabbering girl had turned into a still small but far too hard to figure out woman. And she was still annoying to a certain degree. The younger Sakura just had been far easier to figure out.

"You're frustrating me!" She threw her hands up into the air.

"That goes for two of us," He reminded her with a frown. "Just spit it out. This is getting tiring."

"I've said it before."

"When?"

"Probably a gazillion and one times over when we were younger."

"You've said many, many things."

She scoffed.

"What was I saying most of the time?"

Sasuke ran his fingers through his spiked black hair, pulling on the strands in frustration.

"I'm not playing this game," He told her with a final tone.

Her hands moved to her hips, one of them jutting out to the side, a feminine gesture easily recognizable when she was annoyed.

"This isn't a game," Sakura warned in a serious tone. "This is important. I'm tired of saying it, because you never listen to me when I do. "

He rubbed his temples with a free hand, sticking the other deep down into a pocket, as if he could erase the entire conversation in the process.

"Then you need to spit it out. One last chance. I'm leaving otherwise."

Sakura frowned, nearly to the point of glowering.

"You always threaten to leave," She pointed out. "So why don't you ever? You always stay, even though I annoy you and I bother you in the process." One of her fingers pointed towards the end of the bridge that led back to the Uchiha complex, obviously giving the go ahead for him to leave.

His eyes rolled skyward in an attempt to keep his temper under control.

"I'm starting to think I should have stayed out of Kohona. This is pointless."

She looked as if he had struck a blow straight to her heart. Her back stiffened with her shoulders, and her fists clenched. He knew that it was a low blow, but that seemed to be the only thing that was getting through to her brain. It was just like he had said; he was tired of beating around the bush. Nothing was getting accomplished with all of this meaningless conversation.

And if this didn't get her to say whatever she needed to say, then there was no point in having to put up with this any longer.

Sakura sucked in a breath, and shook her head from side to side, willing herself not to tear up.

"You didn't have to say that," She whispered. "I understand that I'm annoying you. But it just….forget it. I won't argue with you. I just wanted to tell you-"

She stepped closer to him, walking back onto the bridge with quickened steps. She didn't try to snuggle up to him like she would have wanted to, instead stopping when their feet touched: hers bare from discarding her shoes, and his covered in tough shinobi sandals. Slowly one of her hands reached to touch his face, and he stepped away until his back hit the bridge. Her lip trembled, but she held her smile as if it didn't bother her.

"I love you Sasuke. It hasn't gone away." The smile didn't reach her eyes; they looked like green pools of hurt feelings and crushed hope. "That's all that I wanted to tell you. Sorry for bothering you since you came back."

She wasn't expecting him to talk back, so it didn't hurt quite as much as it should when he stayed silent. She stayed at his side longer than what would be considered appropriate after a conversation was over, lingering for minutes until she made a small step back.

Last chance, her feet seemed to say. This is your last chance to say something back. Her eyes were begging him to, just to save her from breaking down in front of him. The night sky had drifted into darker colors, storm clouds circling over the air and beginning to leak drops of rain.

Neither of them paid mind to the rain, letting them be soaked as their silence remained.

"What do you want me to say Sakura? Are you asking me to lie?"

Sakura shook her head quickly.

"I had to try," She explained to him desperately. "Just one last time. Don't let me make you leave Kohona. You deserve to be here. I'm just a silly girl who can't give up on you. I don't think I ever will, but in case you thought that I forgot about you…..well, I didn't."

He moved a step closer to regain their position before she had stepped away.

"Then I don't know what to tell you."

"Can you live with me being in love with you?"

His eyes widened, expecting her to have run away by now. But that insecure little girl must have disappeared a long time ago. She stood her ground, and wasn't letting his words budge her.

"Yes," He answered honestly. "But it doesn't mean the feelings are reciprocated."

"I didn't ask for that," She exclaimed, tilting her head to the side in an attempt to make a humorous smile. "It would have been nice though. So, you won't mind that I'll be pining for you until the day we're old and wrinkly?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Annoy me? Yes. Will it bother me enough to get mad?.....I don't think so."

"So you're not going to get up and leave again?" There was hope in her voice.

"Hardly."

Sakura's smile widened, revealing past full pink lips bright white teeth glimmering with satisfaction. "Then I've said everything that I needed to get out," She told him, wringing her hands behind her back lazily. Her eyes gazed back up to his face. A teasing look spread across her features. "You sure that there isn't anything that you need to let out now since I've spilled my secret to you?"

Anyone else who would have their hair ruffled probably wouldn't make anything of it. It was a typical everyday action. But for Sasuke to make close to skin-to-skin contact, that was something out of the ordinary and surprising. His fingers had passed through the messy pushed back bangs covering her forehead, and her eyes closed while she breathed out with a flushed face. Once she got over the shock of him touching her, she wasn't caught by surprise for him to take his fingers back quickly after he had done the action.

It was surely more than she had thought realistically possible, so Sakura didn't let her hopes be crushed horribly. Sasuke was staying, that left her a chance. She'd take anything she could, but still live with it even if her feelings weren't returned.

"I'm sure," He finally told her, and his lips twitched, but didn't turn into a dreamed of smile or Uchiha like smirk.

It didn't stop happiness blooming warmly into her chest.

Deciding she'd feel better if she were the one to walk away first, as if it proved she had the willpower to do so, she grinned one final time before turning and gently loping down the side of the bridge that led back to her home.

"Haruno," Sasuke called. Meekly she turned around.

"Hmm?" They stood ten feet apart, she already off of the bridge and by the large willow tree that grew next to it. He remained where he was, his face impassive.

"I still need help cleaning up the complex," He mentioned, keeping the tone casual, no infliction of any particular type of emotion readable in his speech. "You up for painting tomorrow?"

Her eyebrows raised high on her wide pale forehead, and a tiny smile flirted on her lips, seeming for a moment to contemplate a decision. Water rolled down her face, sliding down her cheeks and sneaking into the crevice of her lips.

"Anytime."

Maybe her hopes weren't too farfetched after all.

END (For now…..I'll probably add another one shot which will involve their painting fiasco. ^-^ Also, looking for Naruto BETA readers, particularly ones who like Sasusaku. I would like someone if they could help me improve my writing skills by looking over these one shots that I'll come up with if people liked this. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think about this one shot. I would really appreciate the review. Critiquing is ALWAYS welcome.)


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